FULL BUILD REVIEW: 1/12 Revell Shelby Mustang GT500

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I was asked by Ed Sexton from Revell to do a review of the new Mustang GT500 in 1/12 scale. I received the kit on Friday and was anxious to open the kit to check it out....

Here is what I discovered:

The box art:

As I assumed; This thing is a monster as you can see with a 1/24 scale model next to it! The body proportions look spot on and is crisply molded. The only dissapointment to me is the molded in doors. It looks like Revell continues the tradition of molded doors even on big scale kits. On a positive note atleast there is no warpage to deal with if the doors were molded as separate pieces.

Some parts are molded in black. Here is the exhaust, Suspension, and firewall components. Nicely molded from the look of things.

Interior components molded nicely.The main interior pan will be tricky to paint since the front engine bay needs to be body color. I was puzzled why the kit was not all molded in white like most of their new kits are but it wont be a problem.

The chassis pan. Again molded in black, but to do it correct it needs to be done in slvers,primers, and body color overspray.

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Wheels and tires; Nice molded rubber vinyl tires with accurate eagle F1 street rubber tread but no logos on the side walls molded in. High good year license fees!! The wheels were chrome plated but I stripped them here already and shot them in duplicolor chrome paint to give them a toned down look .

More suspension , grill, and engine parts. The grills look nice and are molded open!

Door panels, and the remainder of the chrome tree.

Clear parts tree... its nice to see the front and rear glass packaged in separate baggies to prevent scratches!

Finally, the decal sheet. Well done and will be used in the build. Even the stripes!

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I was wondering if we were ever going to see this day. Revell tooling another large scale kit!!! B) :) I cannot wait to get ahold of one of these. Did he say when they would be available?

I am actually glad they molded the doors shut. I am building Revell`s 1/12 `65 Mustang Shelby, and it is a pain. I ended up glueing the doors shut anyway. I am also glad to see Revell forgoing the G**dy**r tire markings and instead putting the money into developing great kits.

Hopefully this sells like crazy and we see more big scale car kits.

Also, love the box art! I was planning to do mine in that color!

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I agree with that in general, but if I had a vote I'd say make the kits a lot more detailed (even if it means a higher MSRP). This kit, while it's nice in general, has about the same parts breakdown as a 1/24 scale model. At twice that size I expect a lot more detail. For example, separate wipers, separate brake discs and calipers, etc. Breaking down the parts that way makes detailing much easier, and in a large scale model detailing is what makes it or breaks it.

I think most big-scale builders are willing to shell out the $$$ in return for a kit that has significantly better detail/higher parts count than the typical 1/24 kit. At least I know that I would (and I do... those Pochers aren't getting any cheaper!)

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You know, while I can see where you're coming from I think Revell has probably done exactly what they need to to ensure this kit is a financial success. I'm sure that this tooling shares all sorts of commonality with the 1/25 Mustangs, which is probalby the only way to justify the gamble. I also think that the simplicity of this kit gives it the widest possible audience, and ensures that many of them will actually get built. There are lots of big-scale full detail kits that you never actually see completed by anyone, but the Monogram '69 Camaro, '67 Vette, and '57 Chevies get built pretty often. My guess is that if Revell cranked up the detail, while it'd be a nicer kit, but I don't know if they would have sold an extra copy.

Yeah, in the business sense I know you're right. I know, maximize ROI, appeal to the widest possible audience, etc.

It's just my personal wishful thinking. I am willing to pay the price for a full-blown high-zoot kit, but most people are not.

I guess my frustration with the relative simplicity and simplification of this kit isn't felt by most modelers.

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I think that Revell did this one right, those that one a super detailed kit will build it "their" way, & those that don't or can't will love it as is. We all know that if they had put in all of the super details, that there would be a problem somewhere either in the way the hinges were done, or with the evil warp monster getting to the main shell etc. But this way it's out there for all of us to love & build, & I do believe that a lot more will get finished in this mode.

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Yeah, in the business sense I know you're right. I know, maximize ROI, appeal to the widest possible audience, etc.

It's just my personal wishful thinking. I am willing to pay the price for a full-blown high-zoot kit, but most people are not.

I guess my frustration with the relative simplicity and simplification of this kit isn't felt by most modelers.

I am sharing your opinion too, however I also like that the kit is at a low MSRP. This way, it makes things a lot easier to dig in to and modify. One would hesitate once or twice to cut the roof of from the GT40 for example.

I think it is a hard topic for a model-manufacturer, the 'golden' days are gone and in big-scale there is less activity. I am just glad that Revell has the cojones to even produce a big-scale new tooling.

And for the people who wants more detail, there is the announcement from Scale Motor Sport.

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I mentioned I stripped the chrome off the wheels which I did with castrol superclean. Then I sealed them and painted them with a duplicolor chrome enamel silver paint sprayed directly from the can. Looks like it paid off! I carefully installed them after they dried a day and applied the SVT center logos. The more polished or painted look is a definite improvement over the kit chrome.

I assembled the engine block and accessories as well. Nicey engraved and detailed castings. I will get it i paint when I restock my paint supply this week.

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September release and it will retail in the 65 dollar range I believe....

Thanks guys......

More progress... I cleaned up the body with 600 grit paper and put it in primer. Duplicolor filler primer which is kind to the new revell plastic if it is put on in light coats. Minimal clea up was required. The body is very clean, well proportioned and realisitic!

For some reason the passenger door required deepening of the panel lines with a scriber. The door lines were a little light on this side.

I set the rear wing on the trunk but it will be painted separately.

A quick mock up..... It barely fits in my booth! By the way, I will be painting it with Scalefinishes grabber blue.

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September release and it will retail in the 65 dollar range I believe....

Thanks guys......

More progress... I cleaned up the body with 600 grit paper and put it in primer. Duplicolor filler primer which is kind to the new revell plastic if it is put on in light coats. Minimal clea up was required. The body is very clean, well proportioned and realisitic!

Duplicolor right on the bare plastic?!?! That will be really nice to be able to do that.

The body looks really convincing, IMO. Im not sure about the tires though. Is it just me, or are the sidewalls a little tall?

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Well I know how Sherman feels now.... Big scale bodies are not easy to paint! It took 3 ounces of scale finishes Ford CI Grabber blue. Then it was covered in 4 ounces of omni clear. I did this all with a medium tip badger 350. It needs polishing in a few areas but nothing 2000 grit and compound won't fix. Ford Grabber blue is a very cool color....